Chasing Lights
by lawless
Summary: Anatomy of a Friendship
1. Chapter 1

**Chasing Lights: Anatomy of a Friendship**

_by lawless_

* * *

Old habits.

* * *

Megumi left the desk where she was studying to close the windows of her apartment. As she was drawing the shades down, she glanced outside and saw the wet splotches of rain against the glass. She stayed there for a moment, watching the dark, rain-soaked landscape outside, and then she returned to her desk.

In a few months, she was going to take her qualification exam to become a full-fledged doctor. She had all the study materials she needed, the medical texts already reserved at the library, her notes properly labeled and arranged, the professors' hand-outs photocopied. All that was left was to study them.

She was halfway into her copy of the book on the anatomy of the thorax when her cellphone rang. She automatically reached to her right where she usually placed it but grasped nothing. Then she remembered that she was charging it earlier and that it was still connected to the outlet in the kitchen. She stood up, thinking that the caller must be a fellow intern frustrated by the spinning pace of the medical procedure they observed that afternoon and wanted to ask her a few questions – that, or Koichi.

Sanada Koichi was a company accountant whom Megumi dated for about a month before she realized that she was not that into him. She had been meaning to break it up with him but just hadn't found the chance or the time. If the caller was Koichi, she resolved to tell him tonight.

"Megumi, it's Sano," the voice on the phone said. "Remember me?"

"Sano," she repeated, her mind going blank for a moment before she recalled the brown eyes and the wild hair. She never called him Sano and she hadn't seen him in years. "What," she started. "How _are_ you?" She asked, almost shouting.

"Tired and wet." She could hear him smile. "How are _you_?"

"I'm fine." A pause, and then: "Where are you?" He sounded close, but that was strange. Kaoru said he was still in China on some adventure or other.

"In a phone booth a few blocks from the elementary school." Very close.

Megumi sprang up from her chair and ran to the window again, looking down at the street below. There was the phone booth, shadows, and there was him. He raised a hand, and through the phone, she heard him speak, "Can I come up?"

She opened the door as soon as she heard the knock.

"Hi."

"Hi."

He looked exactly the same and yet, for some reason, different. He seemed quieter or older, she couldn't make up her mind which. There was the shadow of a beard under his jaw and his hair was wet, dropping rainwater against sun-browned cheeks.

"Sorry to bother you at this hour. Just wanted to see a friendly face," he said when she ushered him in.

She had questions, lots of them, but was still much too much in shock to even see him – after close to two years without word - to form a coherent one. She figured they could all wait until he at least had a shower and changed into dry clothes.

"I _was_ at Kenshin's," he said, stepping out of the bathroom.

Automatically, Megumi looked up and had to look back down. Sano was walking towards her with only a towel wrapped around his waist, his chest bare. "I think there's a bathrobe hanging by a hook behind the door," she told him, keeping her gaze on the book she was reading.

"Too small," he said casually. Hardly a surprise; it was Megumi's size. Wordlessly, its owner stood up and walked over to the closet in her bedroom. She returned a minute later with a larger bathrobe and handed it to him.

"Thanks."

"You were saying?" She asked him after he put the robe on.

"As I was saying," he obliged, making himself comfortable on the couch with his back turned to Megumi who still sat at her study table. "I dropped by first at Kenshin's place as soon as I got here."

"But?" She asked, sensing that there was more.

"But even I didn't want to intrude on a happy married life," he admitted with a faint hint of mockery in his tone.

"So you came here instead?"

"You're not married, are you?" He challenged, glancing at her over his shoulder.

"Fortunately – or _unfortunately_, no." She chuckled. "What I am is busy," she said pointedly.

"I'm sorry," he said again.

"That's twice you said sorry in under an hour. Did something happen?" She asked casually enough, but he did not reply at once, just kept his eyes closed as he rested his head against the back of the couch. She felt a twinge and asked quietly, "Sano, what happened?"

"Old man finally bit it," he answered after some length. There was another long pause. Then he opened his eyes and looked at her in sudden wonder. "You called me Sano."

She blinked. "Yes."

He scrunched up his face. "It sounds weird."

She shrugged and reached across her desk for her pack of cigarettes. She placed one between her lips and searched around for her lighter. When she didn't find it right away, she only heard a flicking sound and looked up at Sano, holding a flame up for her.

"And you still haven't dropped the habit."

"Old habits," she shrugged, putting a hand out to steady his as she held the tip of her cigarette over the tiny flare. She breathed, held it in, and then blew slowly, leaning back as she did.

"Is it still a secret?"

"Very." She watched him light up and said with a smirk, "Looks like _you're_ still hard at it."

His grin spread slowly across his face. "Old habits."

For a while they smoked in silence, listening to the rain outside as it hit the roof. And then, in that newly quiet voice he seemed to have acquired over the years, he told her what happened.

Higashidani Kamishimoemon passed away quietly in his sleep one Thursday night. Sano was in Mongolia when he heard the news. His sister, Uki, emailed him.

"When is the funeral?" She said, roused from her momentary lethargy by this last detail.

He moved to stub his cigarette into the half-filled ashtray. "A couple of weeks ago. Didn't have wifi where I was. Got her email about a week after he passed."

"I'm sorry, Sano."

"Don't be," he said, shaking his head. "He was a mean old drunk."

When he did not say anything more, she touched his arm in sympathy.

After a while, he shook his head again and lit up another cigarette. " I would have left that place sooner if it weren't for Uki and Outa," he said simply.

Megumi paused, then asked, "When are you going home?"

The bell to her apartment rang.

Sano turned his head and sent her a questioning look. "Expecting someone?"

"Not really." She frowned as she stood up.

"Pizza guy?" He asked.

"I didn't order pizza."

"Boyfriend?"

Megumi crossed the room. When she opened the door, she was surprised to find Koichi standing in the hallway outside. Earlier, she was expecting him but she had forgotten all about it when Sano called instead. "Koichi, what are you doing here?"

"May I come in?" He asked, pushing his glasses up his nose as he was wont to do when he had something in mind.

Megumi hesitated. At that moment, Sano came up from behind her and the two men saw each other. She watched Koichi appraise the younger man and guessed at his thoughts. Sano was wearing one of her robes, his hair still wet from the shower. The image was compounded when he slipped a hand around her waist, an unmistakable gesture of possession. There was no other conclusion to be drawn.

Koichi backed up, staring first at Sano and then at Megumi. "I thought you'd be alone."

"Koichi," Megumi started but he shook his head, muttering something under his breath as he quickly walked away.

After he was gone, Megumi casually disengaged herself from Sano and gave him an annoyed look. "I wish you hadn't done that."

"What?"

"There's nothing between us," she said.

"I didn't say anything."

"No, but you put your hand on me."

"I can't touch you?" He asked quietly.

Her eyes hardened. "You seem to be misunderstanding something."

He saw it, looked ready to challenge it but thought better and soon capitulated with a placating smile. "No misunderstanding. Sorry. I thought he was bothering you."

Megumi sighed and settled on the couch. "He _was_ a bother, so I guess I have you to thank for helping me get rid of him," she said lightly. "Not that I approve of your methodology."

"Why is it," he plopped himself next to her, likewise adopting a light tone, "that every time I come around, I always find you knee-deep in a messy break-up?"

"Maybe you should stop trying to catch me between boyfriends," she retorted, absently pressing a hand over her eyes. "Besides," she added after a moment, "if I recall correctly, it was _you_ who stopped coming around. You're the one with lousy timing."

He snorted. "You're about the only person who's ever accused me of that."

"Since we're on the subject, you at least got it right this time."

"Let me guess. You've been trying to break up with the guy but just couldn't seem to do it. I admire your opportunism, Takani," he declared, adding mischievously, "Not that I approve of your methodology."

She smirked. "They do say imitation is the highest form of compliments."

He held up a cigarette. "Now you know what I think of you."

"Right. Don't blame me for dying early."

"No. I'll just blame you for the eternal damnation of my soul."

She threw a pillow at him in mock anger but couldn't help smiling. She missed him.

"So," he returned with a grin, holding up the pillow, "does this mean I can crash here tonight?"

* * *

_TBC_

* * *

**AN** This is a re-upload.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chasing Lights: Anatomy of a Friendship**

_by lawless_

* * *

One of those mornings.

* * *

The grating sound of ringing tore Megumi from a deep sleep. She slapped at the noise and heard a crash as the alarm clock fell to the floor. She started to drift back to sleep when something bothered her. Something about last night. With a frown, Megumi rolled onto to her back and blinked groggily at the unfamiliar, sunlit room.

It was quite cramped. On one side was a desk cluttered with CDs and other knick-knacks, a lighter, and cigarette butts. On the other side was a travel backpack half-filled with clothes. Next to it is a pristine-looking camera sitting on top of a neat stack of old-issue National Geographic magazines.

Her eyes fell on the heap of clothes on the floor. As events of the past night slowly returned, she swore.

She could hear him in the shower. She stood up and quietly slipped on her clothes. She couldn't remember exactly what happened but she was sure she didn't want to stay around to find out. She just managed to put on her pullover when the shower was turned off and a fresh-looking Sagara Sanosuke stepped out.

"Well, good morning, sleepyhead," he said cheerily as he dried his hair with a towel.

_Ugh. Morning persons._ She decided to go straight to the point. "Who was drunker last night, you or me?"

"That'd be you, if you have to ask."

She stared at him.

He eyed her from the corner of his eyes as he put a t-shirt on. "If you're planning to kill me, I'll have you know you were the last person seen with me last night."

She sighed and pressed a hand to her eyes. "I need a smoke."

He strode over, grabbed a pack of cigarettes, lit one and gave it to her. He slipped the rest in his back jeans pocket as he walked to the door. "Come down and have breakfast."

Next to Sano's apartment was a small family-run diner called the Akabeko. At 6:00 a.m., it was filled with students and young office workers getting ready to start their day. Sano waved her over to a corner table near the supply closet. He had already ordered a huge breakfast of steamed rice, miso soup, grilled fish and pickles.

Megumi looked at him eating as the acid in her stomach roiled around in protestation. The dark sunglasses she wore hid the bleariness of her eyes but not the faint disgust from her expression. How anyone could eat all that after last night's debauched drinking session was beyond her. Despite his earlier claim, she was fairly certain he drank as much as she did.

An annoyingly chipper waitress came over with the menu which Megumi waved off, choosing to order coffee instead. Sano glanced at her, then turned to the waitress to order a second cup of coffee, orange juice and a raw egg. Catching Megumi's look, he said, "Trust me. It'll help you feel better."

"Are you a fucking doctor?"

He chuckled. "Shit, I thought you were a lousy drunk, but you're worse when you're sober."

"Sorry," she finally said, clutching her head. "You know I don't…indulge often."

He took that in stride and said, "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Do you remember yet?"

"No," she said, and then with a look of horror: "God, did we sleep together?"

"Sorry to disappoint," he answered, grinning as he put down his chopsticks and slapped his hands together.

"Oh, good."

That amused him and his grin widened.

At that moment, their coffee arrived. Megumi received her cup gratefully and took her first sip, sighing in relief. Oh, she knew it was largely in her own head but she was grateful for the warm, bitter taste nonetheless. She could ignore the raging headache for a few minutes as she tried to have a conversation with Sanosuke.

She remembered the backpack in his room. "Are you going somewhere?"

"China," he replied shortly. He scratched his chin and contemplated her with an inscrutable expression on his face.

She waited but when he did not elaborate, she placed her cup down and fished a cigarette from her purse. She lit it and smoked. "Were you planning to tell people?"

"I'm telling you now."

"What are you going to do in China?"

"Travel."

She gave him an exasperated look. "I get that. Why for god's sake?"

He shrugged and lit his own cigarette. "It's not Japan."

She studied him from across the table. There was something he wasn't telling her. Something she missed and couldn't quite put a finger on. She and Sano had always been able to talk to each other easily – bluntly, to be exact. It was the defining element of their friendship. Yet, he was holding something back from her and she wondered if he had always done that.

The orange juice and raw egg arrived. Sano let his cigarette dangle from his lips as he expertly cracked the egg, dropped the yolk into the glass and mixed it around with his chopsticks. When the mixture was successfully the right shade of revolting, he slid it over to Megumi and told her to drink it straight up.

She complied and nearly gagged but she managed to hold it down. "Delicious," she remarked sarcastically.

He drank from his cup. "So," he began casually enough, "wanna tell me what last night was about?"

She glared at him from behind her sun glasses. After a while, she snorted disgustedly. "Not the highest point of my life."

"Yeah, I wouldn't call it that. You weren't making a lot of sense, but I gather it's about some boy."

"Broke up with him a couple of weeks ago. Fool tried to slit his wrists."

"Idiot."

"I'm the idiot."

"Well now, I didn't say you weren't." He moved to stub out his cigarette, returning to hold his cup with both hands.

"You're a lousy friend, you know that?" She accused. "When were you planning to tell me you were leaving? To China, for fuck's sake?"

"Actually, I wasn't gonna," was his answer.

She was pissed. She grabbed her wallet, preparing to get up and walk out of there when he stopped her.

"You're so self-absorbed you didn't even notice," he told her quietly. "I'd been planning it for weeks."

She glanced at him with eyebrows drawn together. A strange feeling washed over her. Her throat suddenly felt tight.

"But then you got shit-faced and I had to fetch you from that godforsaken club -"

"Nobody told you to -"

"Well, shit, Megumi, you called me."

That revelation got Megumi to sit back down. She recalled dialing his number, then sobbing over the phone, begging him to come pick her up, and promptly hanging up without telling him which club she was in. He must have spent the better part of the night, scouring the local clubs, trying to find her.

She didn't know exactly how or when, but Sano had become her life-line.

"Are you coming back?" She asked, fiddling with the keychain of her wallet. She felt light-headed, strange. It wasn't the hangover.

He gave her a surveying glance. "Depends."

"Depends on what?" He was starting to piss her off again. But underneath all that was the overwhelming sense of dread.

"Depends on luck."

She sneered. "You and your lousy luck."

"So I've been told."

They were quiet for a beat, and then Megumi announced that she was hungry and wanted pancakes. Sano ordered another cup of coffee and kept her company while she ate. And then, when she was about done, Sano pushed his chair back and stood up.

Megumi instantly understood. A sense of urgency. But there wasn't enough time. How come he never said anything? "Are you coming back?" She asked.

Instead of answering, he placed a hand on her shoulder, told her his flight was at 11:00 a.m. and that he didn't want to be late. And then he kissed her cheek, squeezed her shoulder and left.

* * *

_TBC_

* * *

**AN** This is a re-upload.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chasing Lights: Anatomy of a Friendship**

_by lawless_

* * *

Rooftop blues.

* * *

One day, time stopped.

Megumi made a mental note to replace the batteries of the alarm clock by her bed. Then she rose gingerly and padded barefoot to the bathroom.

Today was a big day. It was her best friend Kenshin's wedding day.

Her face on the mirror greeted her upon entrance. Megumi didn't hate what she saw. It was the face of an attractive woman in her twenties. Her skin just looked a bit pale this morning, as was usually the case when she pulled out an all-nighter the evening prior. Nothing that a little make-up couldn't fix.

She opened the medicine cabinet and took out a bottle of aspirin. She unscrewed the cap and popped two tablets into her mouth, washing them down with water from the tap. Then she reached behind her for the shower, turning the knob for hot. She let the water run while she took off her clothes and carefully folded them on top of the toilet cover. Before she stepped into the shower, she checked the water's temperature first. Then she went in.

"Wanna dance?"

Megumi took her eyes off the blissful newlyweds for a moment to look up at Sagara Sanosuke. He was wearing a suit and tie for the occasion, a far cry from his usual get up of t-shirt and ripped jeans. And the suit was obviously rented. It was too tight around the shoulders. "With you?" She asked in the driest tone of voice she could muster.

He gave a lopsided grin, somewhat unnerved by her attitude. "Or I wouldn't have asked."

She glanced away and stared morosely at the empty wine glass in her hand. "Sit with me, Sanosuke," she muttered, ignoring his request for now to impose one of her own.

There was a beat and then: "Wanna get outta here instead?"

For the second time since this conversation began, Megumi gave Sanosuke a withering stare. "With you?"

He answered with an annoyingly chipper "Yep."

"Where?" She asked, already looking around for her handbag.

Sanosuke found it on floor near her feet. He bent down to pick it up and handed it to her. "The view's better on the rooftop."

Megumi let him lead her through the reception hall, past the small group of well-wishers, waiters carrying trays of food and drinks, through the double doors. Before they entirely stepped out into the hallway, however, Sanosuke nabbed two crystal glasses and a half bottle of chianti from a nearby table.

"Good thinking," she told him to which he merely quirked an eyebrow.

They took the elevator all the way up and when they finally stepped into the open air, Megumi saw that it was just as Sanosuke described it. She could see the entire city in all its steely glory – hard, cold, impersonal. God, she needed this. Even the air was crisp and bit a little into the skin. Behind her, she heard the tinkling of glass and turned around to find Sanosuke, wine bottle in one hand and a full glass in the other.

"Your wine, madam," he said mockingly. But he noticed how she was rubbing her arms up and down. "Cold?" He said. "Here." And he put the glasses down on the concrete ledge so he could take off his coat and give it to her. "It was warmer when I came up here earlier," he told her as he helped her put it on.

"This where you and your date disappeared to as I was finishing my speech?" As she was the only bridesmaid, she had to give a speech congratulating the newly married couple.

"It was a nice speech," Sanosuke said, trying to deflect the question by pausing to light a cigarette. He inhaled smoke, then handed her the glass.

Megumi took a dainty sip of the red wine, knowing that she'd probably had one too many already, especially considering that she was actually contemplating sleeping with him. He wasn't unattractive and might even be a bit of a player, if the parade of women she'd seen him with all these years were any indication. Less complications. "Remind me again when you took up the habit," she urged after a while.

It took him a moment to realize what she was talking about. "Oh, this?" He held up his cigarette. "I can't remember."

She looked away. "Neither could I."

"This is disgusting," Sanosuke suddenly declared and Megumi glanced at him. He was pouring himself another glass. "It's too sweet," he added. He held the bottle up, asking without saying a word whether she wanted a refill.

"And yet I cannot get enough of it," Megumi only said. "I might get drunk, Sagara-kun. In fact, I think I already am," she warned.

"It's an appropriate occasion," he replied.

"For ceberla – celebration?" She laughed at her blunder.

"Or grief."

"I'm not sad honestly," she told him after downing the entire contents of her glass. "Just a little…. It's the subtitle of feelings –"

"You mean subtlety," Sanosuke teased, grinning.

An image of Kenshin's gentle smile flashed in Megumi's brain and she felt the familiar, involuntary flutter. It used to cut deeper. "Your cousin's a lucky girl. I hope she knows that," she said, attempting a light tone.

Kenshin had always been…a most precious friend.

Laughter broke from behind them and they both turned at the same time to find a group of young people step through the elevator doors. "Oh, there's already someone here," one of them exclaimed. Sanosuke smiled and gave them a small wave, indicating that all was well. There was plenty of space. They smiled back and walked to the opposite side of the rooftop. When Sanosuke met Megumi's eyes a second later, she was wearing a faint smirk as she extended a hand, snatching the cigarette from his mouth.

"Hey –" He started to protest but stopped when she deliberately placed the cigarette between her lips.

She raised an eyebrow. "You didn't offer me any."

"You could've _asked_," he said and Megumi noticed the telltale blush creeping up his neck. "Anyway," he said, lighting up a new one, taking quick deep puffs before continuing, "you are really drunk if you're flirting with me, Megumi."

"Don't like it?" There should've been warning signals by now, telling her not to step into that territory but guess the champagne and red wine had loosened her inhibition.

Sanosuke's discomfort had increased. "Yeah. I mean, no. I mean, uh, this is not…such a good idea? You're drunk."

"Yeah, and that's the best part. I probably won't remember any of this tomorrow." She twirled the cigarette in her fingers before she put it back to her mouth. She could feel him staring at her. She sent him a sidelong glance. "No strings attached, Sagara."

He continued to stare, obviously weighing down his options. After a moment, he exhaled, mouth lifting into a grin. "You've put up a very tempting offer," he said, wagging a finger, "and I think I might just be jerk enough to take it."

"Shall we seal the deal with a kiss?" She invited, tilting her head slightly in an unmistakable gesture.

Sanosuke looked at her for a moment, then he was leaning down, one of his hands hovering in the air near her face. And then just before his mouth touched hers, Megumi felt something well up from inside her. She didn't exactly know how or why – maybe it was the tilting motion and she was already so drunk – but the next thing she knew, she was grabbing Sanosuke's shirt, holding on to it for dear life, as she vomited right on his borrowed black shoes. And to make it worse, the tears came – huge, wet splotches of salty water, running down her nose and cheeks, ruining her mascara and make-up that took two painstaking hours to put on. Oh god, she hated her life, this feeling, why did everything have to be so miserable?

"You think your life's miserable? What'll Katsu say when I give him back these shoes?" Sanosuke's voice penetrated her inebriated mind.

"I hate you, too," she said without really thinking.

He laughed. "Whatever." He was holding her hair for her as she continued to throw up. "I gotta tell you, Megumi, this is not turning me on." Megumi's response was to throw up some more.

"There you are!" Somebody said, and then: "Oh god, what happened? Is she alright?"

"She's decorating my shoes." The person continued to stare at Sanosuke as though he'd gone mad. Sanosuke smiled wearily. "She came with you, didn't she? Maybe you could drive her home now. She needs to lie down."

"But I…" The man started. "I can't let her in the car like that."

There was a long pause and then Sanosuke whispered to Megumi. "Are you seriously dating this bastard?"

"He's tall enough," she muttered. "And look who's talking," she said right back. "Except for Misao, all your girlfriends are horrible."

"Jealous?" He insinuated.

"Very." She sniffed, using the back of her hands to wipe at her face. Sanosuke started to pull at the handkerchief in his breast pocket only to realize it was fake, so he offered her his sleeve instead. She finally looked up, smiling, clearly touched.

"Your make-up's running," Sanosuke commented.

"Shut up."

"Can I take you home now?"

"Are we going to walk?"

"No, we'll take the train."

"Still so suave, Sagara."

"I try really hard, _senpai_._"_

"Uh, excuse me?" Megumi's date asked as the two of them started walking past him. "Hello?"

* * *

_TBC_

* * *

**AN** This is a re-upload.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chasing Lights: Anatomy of a Friendship**

_by lawless_

* * *

Night strings.

* * *

It was the first thing she heard when she stepped out of the guesthouse. The faint strains of the guitar led her to a rusty swing set that was part of a small playground just across the street.

He sat on one of the swings, strumming the instrument. His back was turned to her but he seemed to have heard her approach because he paused in the middle of the song.

"Don't stop on my account," she said.

"Megumi?"

She realized that with the light directly behind her, he could not really see her face. Instead of answering, she asked, "What are you doing out here on your own, Sanosuke?"

He shrugged and turned back to his instrument. "Just playing. You?"

She walked towards him and sat on the other swing. "Have you got a smoke?"

He grinned at her. "Still pretending to be clean, _senpai_?"

"I'm planning to be a doctor, Sagara. It's bad advertising."

"Oh?" He sounded, already fishing around his pocket for his pack and lighter. "Then I'm sure that health-freak boyfriend of yours would never approve."

"Hm," she only said, taking the cigarette that he offered and leaning down for a light. She smoked a few times before she said, "Actually, Aoshi's not that much of a health-freak."

Sanosuke chuckled.

"What?" Megumi asked adamantly. "The man likes his tea. What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing." And he laughed outright.

Megumi gave a light push and the swing started moving. The chain, rusty from non-use, creaked with the back and forth motion. "What about you?"

Sanosuke had started playing the guitar again. Without pausing for a moment, he asked, "What about what?"

"I like this one better than the last," she replied cryptically. When he only stared at her blankly, she said with a smirk, "Misao. Knew it from day one."

His expression lightened as understanding set in, then he snorted. "Are you taking credit for my good taste?"

"Oh, so it was _your_good taste?"

"I'm the one dating her," Sanosuke pointed out.

Megumi stretched her legs out and the swing gathered in speed. "I suggested it first."

"You only picked up on it."

"Aren't I sharp?"

"You're egotistical."

"I told you," she answered smugly. "I'm planning to be a doctor."

It was between the hours of nine and ten in the evening. Apart from the occasional motorcycle and young people coming home from the line of _izakaya_on the west side of the station, hardly any traffic came by that side street. The strumming of Sanosuke's guitar continued and the creaking sound of the swing grew louder. Sanosuke started humming.

It had been a long time since Megumi had heard him sing. Sure, she'd been to the bar where Sanosuke occasionally played with his band but she never really paid attention and it was never like this. Just him singing – or rather humming. She dropped her legs to the ground and the swing slowed down.

Sanosuke's voice was deep, deeper than she remembered. He was singing mostly gibberish, there was no actual word, but she sensed the emotion, the longing in his tone. She realized then that it was an original composition, a little rough around the edges but the sentiment was there. When he finally stopped (midway, she reckoned), she looked at him with awe and wonder.

"You made that, didn't you?"

He grinned. "Came up with it tonight."

"Tonight?" She repeated. "What, while we were having dinner?" She didn't think he was serious.

"Right about the second round of drinks." He placed the guitar back into its case.

Megumi recalled, "You mean, after Kenshin and Kaoru announced their engagement?"

"And you couldn't hide your reaction fast enough," he murmured.

A motorcycle passed by, its headlight throwing their shadows into sharp relief. For a split-second, Megumi thought about pretending but then she realized that this was Sanosuke. She'd never know how but he'd guessed a long time ago. She smiled ironically at him.

Catching the expression, he stated, "I thought you were over him."

"I am," was her assured answer. There was a beat, and then: "So the song's about me?"

His answering smile was small, just a slight curve at the corners of his lips. "Let's just say certain events…inspired."

"In short," she said, her smirk widening into a mocking smile, "you wrote a song about me."

Sanosuke looked skyward. "Hopeless."

"Sagara-kun, I'm not sure I know what to say," she continued in a patronizing voice. "I think I'm touched." When he only gave her a withering stare, she bobbed her head and laughed. "No, I'm serious."

"Oh yeah," he said sarcastically, "serious alright."

"I feel a slight twinge somewhere in the periphery of my pancreas," she went on, "which is odd, because right there is just my duodenum." At another of Sanosuke's blank stares, she added, "It's a hollow tube connected to the stomach."

"Okay," he said, "now we stop talking before you confuse the shit out of me."

"If memory serves me right, this wouldn't be the first time I've confused the shit out of you, Sagara."

"I'm sure I'm not the only one."

"I also know for a fact I make you nervous."

"Only when you're holding a needle. Are you gonna be okay?"

The question was sudden but she was prepared for it. Indeed, she had been expecting it, and she didn't want to lie. The swing started to creak again. With each push against the ground, the stars that dotted the night sky seemed closer, more within grasp. All night, Megumi had felt a heaviness tugging at her chest, emotions she couldn't isolate, let alone articulate into words, and she'd thought that if she didn't step out, escape those faces around the dining table, she'd gag and suffocate. Now, without her even realizing, she felt the weight lift. Finally, she said in a soft murmur, "Don't let's spoil things, Sanosuke."

"I wasn't –" he started but at the look on her face, he did a quick turnabout. "Suit yourself." Then, he took out his pack of cigarettes and lit one. Soon, two gray tendrils of smoke curved upwards. In the distance, the lights of Tokyo's busiest districts burned bright and neon. "For what it's worth," Sanosuke said after some length, "I won't say I told you so."

She smirked. "You're sweet, Sanosuke." He made a face, as if to say: 'Sweet?' and Megumi laughed her light, mocking laugh. "Oh no, did I accidentally insult you?"

"Only where it matters." He grinned, blowing smoke into the air. "Sweet, my ass."

"For what it's worth," she said after a longish pause, smiling slightly, "I'll be fine."

He looked at her for a moment, then turned to stare in the distance. That was all he really needed to know.

Megumi took one last smoke and stubbed out the cigarette, feeling lighter and wondering, not for the first time, why it was so easy being with him. She'd known Sagara Sanosuke a few years and in all that time, she'd hardly even talked to him. But around each other, they could be as blithe and as casual as only the closest of friends could be. Maybe that was why.

She stood up and his eyes followed her. "Heading back?" He wondered, exhaling smoke through his nostrils.

She didn't answer right away and instead took out a bottle of cologne from her purse and sprayed some of its contents all over herself. "Yep. You?"

Sanosuke gave her a funny look. "He's gonna smell it on your breath, you know."

"Then, have you got a gum?" Megumi asked. He fished something out of his pocket but before he could even offer it to her, she snatched it up. "Mint candy. Good enough."

"And they all accuse me of mooching," Sanosuke muttered under his breath.

Ignoring his comment but good, Megumi gestured with her head. "Coming?"

He appeared to think for a minute, then shook his head. "Nah," he said, holding up his half-smoked cigarette pointedly, "I think I'll enjoy a quiet one for a change."

She arched one eyebrow, prepared to say something witty in retort but then thought better of it. Silently, she headed back to the guesthouse across the street.

* * *

_TBC_

* * *

**AN** This is a re-upload.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chasing Lights: Anatomy of a Friendship**

_by lawless_

* * *

Shared secrets.

* * *

The dorm room that Megumi had shared with Makimachi Misao for the better part of college was cluttered with packing boxes and half-filled suitcases. Folded on a chair in front of the open closet is the dark blue _kimono-hakama _that Megumi had worn at the commencement ceremony the previous day along with the golden tassel that indicated she had completed the first four academic years of med school with the highest honors. At the center of the room stood Megumi, pausing in the middle of packing to light a cigarette. Beyond the open door, the hall was filled with voices as family members of departing students carried suitcases and packing boxes downstairs.

"What are you doing?" Sagara Sanosuke strode into the room without so much as a knock, sweeping his gaze around him with knit brows. "I came up here expecting you packed and ready, but look. Did a tornado pass by while I wasn't looking?"

Megumi shot him a dirty look. She swore if he wasn't helping her move today, she'd give him a scathing put-down. He'd deserve it, too. For reasons that are still quite hazy to her, she knew she was supposed to be angry with him for last night's drunken debauchery. At the very least, he was partly responsible for the hangover. But instead of getting herself worked up over it (and perhaps make the hangover worse), she just waved a hand dismissively. "You can take down those boxes first. I," she added in a self-entitled tone of voice, "am taking a break."

"Fine," he said, scratching his head, obviously a total stranger to that same hangover (that is so not fair). "But you better take it fast 'coz the others are coming up soon."

Megumi paused in the middle of smoking and looked at him askance. Sanosuke was already lifting the boxes, placing one on top of the other, his muscles straining against his clothes. Megumi blinked. When had he become so…_built_?

He was saying, "Your boyfriend, too."

A sleek eyebrow shot up. "Excuse me?"

"Kenshin."

There was a beat, and then Megumi gave a scoffing laugh. "Where did you get that idea?"

"Actually," he said nonchalantly enough, "you gave me that idea. Last night. While you were drunk on your ass, yapping your head out about how –"

Megumi felt the heat on her face. "That's enough," she snapped, smoking furiously.

"—your favorite color is red," he finished, grinning. "Nice to know you like the occasional short guy."

"I hate you," she only said.

"I know," he nodded sagely, then grinned. "Which is why I like you best when you're drunk."

"God," she swore under her breath. _Now _she remembered why she was feeling all kinds of mad at him.

"There, there," he said in a tone he totally did not mean. "Don't feel so bad. If it's any consolation, I wasn't very shocked."

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" She asked morosely, thinking about all the times she'd baited and teased him. Granted, it was all done in fun, but now he had this to dangle over her head…. It was annoying and very, very humiliating.

He appeared to think. "Actually, not so much. It's much better with an audience."

She stared at him. "You wouldn't dare."

He must have seen something in her face then because his grin faltered. But just as quickly as it disappeared, it appeared again. "I'll have to think about it," he teased. "In the meantime, I'd get rid of that. I wasn't kidding when I said they're coming up soon."

Getting his point, Megumi quickly finished smoking and pressed the cigarette stub on an empty flower pot sitting on the window sill. From the corners of her eyes, she saw Sanosuke watching her with some amusement. "So who else is coming?" She asked as she tied her hair back in a pony tail.

"Kenshin and Kaoru and Misao. I asked Katsu, too, but he's got a deadline. Kenshin and I can handle the hard labor, doncha worry."

"I suppose I ought to thank you but this is another thing you'll hold over my head, isn't it?"

Sanosuke just flashed her a white smile.

A few minutes later, their friends arrived and there was one addition to their group. Good-looking guy, tall, a bit broody and standoffish. He was introduced as a distant cousin of Misao, visiting for the weekend. The relationship obviously had nothing to do with the difference in height for Makimachi Misao, at four feet eight inches, stood only at his chest level. Megumi, however, noted with interest that the stranger was at least a full head taller than her. His name was Shinomori Aoshi.

The move took the better part of the day to finish. Sanosuke was the only one who stayed with her through the end, mainly because – Megumi suspected – he was the only one who did not have anything better to do. After they were done, they went to the rooftop of Megumi's new apartment. It was located in the Yushima District and the view included the university hospital where she planned to complete her internship year. She lit a cigarette and talked with him casually for a while. Sanosuke was actually easy to converse with. She'd found out a long time ago that if she didn't antagonize him so much he could be quite pleasant company.

"What are you going to do if he pops the question?"

Then again, it was only a matter of time before he said the absolutely wrong thing to say.

Megumi, who knew he only said it with the aim to provoke a reaction, gave him a disdainful stare. "Congratulate them?"

"Really. You're going to do that," Sanosuke said dubiously. "You're going to go up to Kaoru, take her hand and say to her face that you wish them all the best?"

"It's the civil thing to do. What are you getting at?"

"Because he _is_going to pop the question soon."

Megumi inhaled deeply and watched smoke rise above her. Even to her own ears, her voice sounded hollow. "She has at least two more years before graduation."

He turned around so that his back was resting against the ledge. "He's not waiting around for that."

"How do you know?"

"Guy talk."

"There is such a thing?" She asked, exaggerating her surprise.

He grinned. "You girls don't have a monopoly."

"And here I thought you just hit each other in the head, then go to bars and get wasted, all without exchanging a word." She blew smoke into the air which Sanosuke tried to disperse with his hand.

"Why do you like it?" He asked.

"Why do I like what?" She thought he was still talking about the same thing although he wasn't making much sense.

"Smoking."

Ah. "It's a habit. I don't have to like it."

"Then why do you continue?"

She shrugged.

Then he asked a ridiculous question. "Does it give you bonus points for the cool factor?"

She laughed and said sarcastically, "Yes, Sanosuke. I smoke because it makes me look and feel cool. Meanwhile, my lungs are turning black and I'm effectively shortening my lifespan by half."

"You should quit," he mildly suggested. This time, he was staring intently at the cigarette she kept twirling between her fingers.

"Sure," she snorted.

"Well, if you're not going to quit, then what are you going to do?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "So curious today."

And then he asked her, somewhat tauntingly, whether she was going to try to steal him. Megumi sighed as though bored with the topic, but then she gave her answer in the form of a slight laugh: "No. I don't want scraps from anybody." He seemed confused and that made her smile in derision. "You silly boy, don't you know anything?"

He did not even dignify that with an answer.

"You're a guy," she continued, "and you've liked quite a few girls. If you were to choose one of these girls that you like, would you go after the one who doesn't like you back?"

"Yes." The answer came quickly and with absolute conviction.

At first, Megumi was surprised and also a little bit amused. "So you like a challenge," she discovered. "But let me put it this way," she went on with infinite patience, "don't you feel bad about yourself for wanting something you can't have?"

After some length, Sanosuke reluctantly agreed, "Sometimes."

"See? It's not as simple as you think, Sagara."

They were quiet after that. Megumi finished her cigarette and lit up a fresh one. Then she smiled suddenly as an idea struck her and she cast him a glance. "I wonder, Sagara-kun."

"What?" He knew better than to trust that narrow-eyed gaze she was giving him.

"If there's anybody you like who doesn't like you back."

He appeared to think, scratching his head out of habit. Then he caught her gaze and grinned. "There is."

And the flirt in her rose to the challenge. "Oh no, it's not me, is it?"

"You're wrong, you know," he growled.

Megumi flipped her hair back and looked over him briefly. "I think I know who it is."

"That's wonderful, _senpai__!_ You can read minds!"

"Don't get cute with me," she told him but she was smirking when she said it.

* * *

_TBC_

* * *

**AN** This is a re-upload.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chasing Lights: Anatomy of a Friendship**

_by lawless_

* * *

Of lunchboxes and cigarettes.

* * *

Megumi was hanging out by herself at the back of the gym, trying not to freeze while smoking a cigarette, when she spied a familiar figure hurry past her. She paused, surprised. There wasn't supposed to be anyone else here. She was about to call his name when she saw him casually step over the hedges lining the sides of a connecting building and try to open the window. It didn't budge. So he stepped back and started to retrace his steps, eyes searching the ground.

Her curiosity finally got the better of her. "Sagara-_kun_?" She called tentatively. She recognized him almost immediately by his ridiculous hair.

The call startled him. As a result, he slipped on a patch of ice on the ground and landed on his rump with a dull thud. He didn't get up right away so she walked over to him in concern.

"Are you okay?"

She saw him lying supine on the snow-patched ground, his face going all shades of red. He looked like he could be crying so that increased her alarm but upon closer inspection, she realized that it was just his pride crushed. She offered him a hand kindly.

"Thanks," he said when he was upright again. He rubbed his rump gingerly, gave her the briefest of glances then made a double take.

"_…Senpai_," he said, registering surprise. Megumi expected as much. No one knew she hanged about here, which was the point actually. "What are you doing here?" The question was asked almost as soon as his gaze fell on the cigarette between her fingers. Then, something clicked.

"What are _you _doing here?" Megumi questioned instead. She briefly considered dropping the cigarette but she had waited all day to enjoy it, she hesitated. Sagara Sanosuke had seen her smoke before anyway.

He looked at her for a moment, as though trying to gauge her reaction, then said, "I was trying to break into the clinic."

"May I ask why?"

Instead of answering, he showed her his hands.

For the first time, Megumi got a good look at them and saw that the knuckles were bruised and swollen, the little finger of the right hand bent at an odd angle. She inhaled sharply.

"Hurt them. Need meds." He shrugged.

"That needs patching up." Megumi walked over to a nearby trash bin and tossed her half-smoked cigarette inside.

"Nah, just need something for the pain."

"Sanosuke," she said, turning to him.

"Yeah?"

"You've been fighting, so I get why you don't want the school nurse to know about it. But you're an idiot if you think stealing painkillers will do the trick. It won't treat the injury or fix that broken finger."

"Do you suggest I steal bandages instead?" He deadpanned.

Megumi bit the inside of her cheeks. "No, but you should get that checked."

"Oh, why didn't I think of that?"

She ignored the sarcasm. "Lucky for you, my dad is a doctor."

Later that afternoon, after classes were over, Megumi broke off from her group of friends to meet Sanosuke at the school's entrance. He stood, leaning against the post, hands shoved deep in his pockets, watching her friends walk past.

"Hi," she said, adjusting her knapsack on her shoulder.

"Yo." He straightened, turned in the direction of her home and began ambling ahead of her in leisurely fashion.

She followed, his wide-shouldered frame clearing the way for her.

"So," she started when the silence between them stretched. He threw a glance at her over his shoulder but didn't venture a word. "Who did you fight with?"

"Nobody you know," he mumbled.

"I bet the other guy looks worse."

There was a snort. "You can say that again."

"Why'd you fight?"

"'Coz I like it." She could hear him grinning.

"You're an idiot."

"So I've been told." He paused, allowing her to catch up to him until they were walking side by side. He gazed at her from the corners of his eyes, grinning mysteriously.

After some length, she said, "What?"

"Hey, Student Council President, why do you smoke?"

She saw through it immediately and let out a surprised chuckle. "Clever," she commented.

He quirked his brows at her. "That's a first. I've never been called 'idiot' and 'clever' all on the same day."

That drew a smirk.

The house soon came into view. As they approached, it suddenly struck Megumi that Sagara Sanosuke was the first boy she was bringing home. Her father's car was in the driveway. Good. He hadn't yet left for the hospital.

"I'm home!" Megumi called out at the doorway while she removed her shoes and put on house slippers. Sanosuke did the same and put on a pair reserved for house guests.

"Welcome home." Megumi's mother appeared with a smile, which froze in place at the sight of the rough-looking youth standing next to her beloved daughter. "Oh," she merely sounded.

"Mom, this is Sagara Sanosuke, Kenshin's friend," Megumi introduced, walking past her mother to drop her school bag on the nearest couch.

"Oh," her mom uttered again.

"Is Dad in his study?" Megumi was already walking down the hallway towards the room at the end of it. She knocked once and opened the door.

Takani Ryusei looked up from the papers on his desk, smiling dreamily, which told her that half of his focus was still on the files he was reading. "Ah, _kitsune-chan_, you're home. How was school?"

Megumi grimaced at the childish nickname. "I told you not to call me that."

"But foxes are wonderful and cute and clever like my little Megitsune."

She scowled. "School was okay. Biology teacher gave a pop quiz. I aced it, of course."

"Of course," Ryusei said, smirking. Then he removed his reading glasses and finally gave his daughter his undivided attention. "Alright, what is it?" 

"I want you to please look at my friend's hand. I think his finger is broken."

* * *

"That boy keeps staring at you," Megumi's date, Takeshi, murmured, nodding his head in the general direction of where a group of junior high boys were playing pool.

Megumi followed his gaze and saw Sagara Sanosuke standing there, with his arm around a girl. He didn't seem to have eyeballs for anyone but the cute little thing hanging on to his every word. She took a sip of her milk tea.

After helping him get his hands fixed, Megumi often saw Sanosuke around. It was a big campus. But strange that she never noticed him until the day she saw him try to break into the school clinic to steal some painkillers. Now she was seeing him around so frequently they had become almost like casual friends, nodding at each other in the hallway, sometimes walking home together.

"Do you know him?" Takeshi urged.

It was subtle but she could sense the entitlement, the hint of possession. She sighed and stirred her drink with her straw. "That's Sagara Sanosuke."

"Yeah, baseball player," Takeshi said with obvious contempt, adding, "Do you hang out with him?"

And there it was.

Megumi looked at him derisively. "You have something against baseball players?"

"Don't be an idiot," he cut in. "Guy's quarrelsome. Gets into fights all the time. I bet he's violent."

Megumi said no more and simply asked to go to the bathroom. She took her bag with her and never returned. Her date waited for almost half an hour before realizing that he got ditched. Then he angrily paid the bill and left in a huff.

One week later. Sanosuke was in the baseball field; the recipient of a very public break-up. Megumi was sitting by the bleachers with some friends when it happened and witnessed the whole thing. Her friends laughed and hollered insults at the two. Even Megumi couldn't hide her own snigger at the scene. Realizing that they had become the laughingstock of the whole school, the girl ran away crying while Sagara just stood there. After a while, he glanced over at the bleachers and Megumi thought their gazes met, but then he walked off, shoving his hands in his pockets.

She saw him the next day, drinking from the water fountain at the back of the gym. He saw her almost as soon as she saw him. He wiped his mouth and grinned.

"Yo," he greeted.

She smirked, sat down and took out a pack of cigarettes from a side pocket of her bag. She tapped it until one slipped out and she took it between her lips, expertly lighting the tip. At this, Sanosuke strode over, then dropped down on the bench beside her. He took out a lunch box wrapped in a bright pink handkerchief with bunny designs.

Even now, the sight of it made her laugh.

He scowled. "My sister," he explained not for the first time.

"Is that why you take your lunches in secret?" She asked, still chuckling. At the red blotch creeping up his neck, she deduced that she was right on the money. She flicked the ash from her cigarette and took a puff. "Guess we can't tell on each other now, can we?"

He grinned and unwrapped his lunch – rice, grilled fish and a side of daikon – and began eating quietly.

* * *

_TBC_

* * *

**AN** This is a re-upload.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chasing Lights: Anatomy of a Friendship**

_by lawless_

* * *

My name is Sagara Sanosuke.

* * *

Megumi burst into the Drama Club Room. "Ken-san!" She said, oblivious to the other students who have all stopped what they were doing to stare at her, their mouths forming the letter "O." To say that they were surprised was an understatement. After all, it was not everyday that the student council president came into a club's headquarters to call the attention of one particular student. Not only that but she, who usually appeared calm and collected in all school gatherings organized by the student council, looked all worked up about something. "Ken-san," she said again.

The student whose name she kept calling was by the window, chatting casually with a first year. The latter was the one who noticed her first and it was he who alerted his companion to her approach.

Himura Kenshin was famously the president of the school's Kendo Club. On days such as these, most people would expect to find him at the gym, practicing or teaching junior members the basic drills. However, there was a little-known detail about the school's best _kendokai_: he was at the same time an honorary member of the Drama Club. And this was why very little people actually knew that on certain days of the week, Kenshin would hang out at the Drama Club Room, instead of the gym. Of course, one of the few people who knew was his very good friend and fellow senior, Takani Megumi.

Kenshin smiled when he saw her. "Takani. What's up?"

Megumi stopped in front of him, breathed deeply for a moment, then said, "I need a favor, Ken-san." As she was finishing this statement, her eyes accidentally met that of Kenshin's companion, the first year Sagara Sanosuke.

"What is it?" Kenshin prompted her so Megumi turned her attention back to him.

"I need more sign-ups," she began, then made a quick decision. "Actually, I need _you_, and maybe some of your team members, to sign up."

"Sign up for what?"

"I'm organizing a talent show. You know that newly opened children's clinic a few blocks away?" Kenshin nodded. "As part of community-outreach, our school is hosting an entertainment program for the kids. We're going to have a talent show but we're lacking people," Megumi explained.

"But –" He started to protest when she interrupted him.

"Oh, I know you're not really a drama club member. I just think that if people knew you joined, more will follow."

"Aren't you overestimating my drawing power?" Kenshin wondered uncertainly to which Megumi only waved her hand dismissively.

"If it comes to that, I guess you can do a few _kata_. These kids don't get out much so they'll probably love it."

"Oh."

"This is serious, Ken-san," Megumi said, more emphatically this time. "I really need your help."

Kenshin capitulated. "I'll see what I can do." Megumi clasped her hands in front of her in a gesture of relief but her joy is cut short as Kenshin added, "I can't promise you anything though. Most of the clubs will be busy with the school festival coming."

"It's fine. I'm holding auditions on the day of the school festival, too. You can tell any of your recruits to come see me at the student council office after school."

"Okay."

"Thanks, Ken-san. I owe you one." She smiled cheerily before turning around and walking out the same way she came in.

* * *

Three days later, the school festival was in full swing but there were still only six people signed up for the talent show. Megumi was slightly panicking. She sat at one of the many tables in the foyer of the school. It was almost noon, but the foyer was still crowded with students wandering among tables loaded with stuff on sale. There were t-shirts and sweatshirts emblazoned with the school's logo, _manga_and picture frames, dance tickets and passes to the school play, ice cones and _takoyaki_. Megumi herself sold nothing at her table, waiting instead for people to sign up to her talent show. But so far, there were only three new names on the list.

"Hi."

"Hi." Megumi looked up to find Sagara Sanosuke standing in front of her. She gave him a friendly smile while inwardly she wondered what he was doing at her table. The sign clearly said 'Talent Show Sign-Up.'

"I want to audition for the talent show," he said. His voice was deep but still held that high, tremulous quality of adolescence.

She stared at him for a moment, processing. Sagara Sanosuke sign up for a talent show? She knew what his talents were: pitching fastballs and hitting homeruns. Not exactly the kind of talent she was looking for.

He seemed to wait for her to ask but when she didn't, he finally offered, "I sing."

"Oh." Megumi kept the incredulity from her voice. She eyed him and carefully considered. Whether or not he sang well, it was another name on the list.

"So, uh," he said, clearing his throat awkwardly, "what do you need? My name is Sagara Sanosuke."

"I know." They did not move in the same crowd. She was also his senior. But, of course, she knew him. Sanosuke was considered a rising star in the school's varsity baseball team and was quite popular among the student body. She came to a decision. "You'll have to fill up this form." She handed him a piece of paper and a pen.

"Thanks," he muttered, then looked around for a place to sit on.

"Here," Megumi offered him the extra chair beside hers. "You can sit over here." He took the seat somewhat awkwardly. She handed him a pen and he proceeded to write with it.

"So…about the audition?" He kept his head down, still writing.

Megumi caught a glimpse of bold handwriting on the information sheet. "It's this Friday. Can you make it?"

He looked half-dismayed, half-embarrassed. "I have baseball practice."

She nodded. "I thought so. What time do you get off?"

"Six, six-thirty. Thereabouts."

"You doing anything after that?" She had to ask because guys like Sagara Sanosuke had active social lives.

"No, I go straight home."

"I find that hard to believe." He did not reply, merely stared at her. Smiling faintly, Megumi said, "I volunteer at the children's clinic from six o' clock to seven. If you can make it there after practice, I'll personally hold your audition."

He came around at exactly six-thirty on Friday evening, holding a beat-up guitar case in one hand and his gym bag in the other. Megumi, however, had work at the clinic and couldn't leave until seven. She really thought that he, impatient to leave and hang out with his friends, would be long gone by then, but to her surprise, he was still there, waiting under the ginkgo tree when she came out.

"Hi," she greeted.

"Hi." He was about to stand up but Megumi stopped him.

"Let me rest for a bit," she told him as she carefully arranged herself on the spot of grass beside him.

It was dark there. The lamppost lighting the street directly across them was some paces away. Megumi was tempted, thought better of it, but ultimately decided that she did not really care. So she reached into her backpack and took out from a secret pocket a half-empty pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

"Sagara-_kun_," she began conversationally enough, placing a stick of cigarette between her lips, "do you smoke?"

He was looking at her with an indescribable expression on his face. "I haven't found the need to," he answered. He must be shocked but she heard no reproach in his voice.

"There never is, you know," she told him. The flame from her lighter illuminated the two of them for a brief moment before it went out, leaving only the red glow at the end of her cigarette. She had time to wonder why she was showing this to – of all people – a freshman jockey she only just met, but she was tired tonight, she wanted a smoke. Still, the model student in her felt obliged to warn him. "It's an unhealthy habit. You shouldn't pick it up."

He seemed to find that amusing but she sensed no reproof from him and she wondered if he was used to watching people engage in worse vices. Her mouth lifted in a sardonic smile. "No one knows about this vice of mine, except you, so I'd advise you not to be too talkative." After a moment, she asked, "How'd you know about this talent show anyways?" It wasn't like it was some big event. She'd had trouble enough trying to get the word out.

The question caught him by surprise and he gave her a look, which Megumi couldn't fathom. Then, he said with a grin, "I just heard talk. Nothing really but I thought why not?"

Megumi knit her brows. "You do realize this is not some gig that you can just ditch when you don't feel like it. This isn't a hobby or a game," she told him, her meaning clear.

"I know," he said soberly.

Sighing, she continued, "It's for those children inside. Do you know that some of them haven't even been out of their beds for years? I can't even imagine it. Can you?"

He shook his head. After some time, Megumi moved to press the lighted end of her cigarette to the ground. "Well," she said, glancing at him. "Shall we hear it?"

He sang well, Megumi found. In fact, he sang more than well. His voice – somewhat tremulous and uncertain when he spoke – was deep and full of emotions when he sang. His first song was an _a capella_. Then, at her suggestion, he took out his guitar – an old thing full of stickers and scratches – and played it while he sang a popular acoustic tune. Megumi listened in absolute silence. She might not have any real talent for music but she had a keen ear. At the very least, she had an intellectual interest in the arts and could recognize when a voice had the correct pitch, when it hit the right note, and when it moved to the proper rhythm. As far as she was concerned, she heard all of this in Sanosuke's singing.

After the song was over, Megumi opened eyes she didn't know were closed and said, "You can sing like that?"

He grinned and Megumi absently noted that he had an attractive smile. "No one knows about this vice of mine, except you, _senpai_, so I'd advise you not to be too talkative."

Her laughter came unbidden. "The show's on Sunday evening," she informed him a moment later.

"_This_Sunday?" He asked and when she nodded, he said, "Wow, you're really cutting it close, aren't you? Does that mean I've been accepted?"

"We're desperate." There was a short, stunned pause, and then Megumi glanced at him with a small, apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. That was a terrible thing to say."

His grin came slow and easy. "You have the most fascinating eyes –"

"Actually," she interrupted, rising up and dusting her skirt as she did, "I'm horribly near-sighted. Without contacts, I can barely see ten feet in front of me."

He stood up as well, hoisting the guitar up his shoulder. "So…."

"So," she smiled and said, "see you Sunday, Sagara-_kun_."

* * *

_TBC_

* * *

**AN** This is a re-upload.


End file.
